by tomodda » Thu Oct 24, 2019 11:44 am
Hi @spoke36:
Lots of advice on mast raising, it's always so much "fun." My $0.02:
-The mast is pretty light, the problem is controlling the lever-arm - it's an unwieldy 20-foot long stick!
-Make sure that the side stays are well attached, never raise the mast without both side stays in place. It WILL fall over - sideways.
-I raise the mast while standing inside the boat. My solution for hopping in/out of boat while she's on the trailer is a small footstool. I have a simple plastic one from home depot, about 2 ft high, which I toss into the trunk of my car. Alternatively there are folding ones. Makes life a LOT easier.
-First thing you do is raise the mast off the cradle and shift it aft. You can do this single handed, standing near or on the thwart. Then pin the mast to the tabernacle, with mast lying on transom. You can't lie it RIGHT on the transom, because the mast will catch on the cuddy. You need to prop the transom-end of the mast up about 2 feet. I do it with four seat cushions piled up, you could do it with a crutch or even a sailbag. But mast has to be raised off the transom a bit.
-Once pinned, I put the mast up by hand... stand behind the centerboard, hoist it up onto my shoulder, walk forward, and then I step up onto the thwart. On a good day, I just hoist it the whole way onto my shoulder while standing on the thwart. Then I push the mast into place, with the forward pin lined up. Once it's in place, I can hold it there with one hand, freeing my other arm for the next steps.
-I use the jib halyard to secure the mast, and - if needed - to help me pull it up. I don't use a block at the bow, instead I simply clip the jib halyard to the stemhead - thru the aft-most hole. Same place where you normally clip the tack of your jib. In other words, instead of attaching the jib halyard to the head of the jib, I attach it to the bowstem. I pull on the free end of the halyard, same as if I'm raising the jib. Of course, this doesn't work unless you are standing in the boat and the mast is already up on your shoulder (angles). Actually, I'll only use the jib halyard to help me raise the mast if I'm feeling weak that day, the real importance of the halyard is for the next step.....
-One the mast is raised, using my free arm, I pull in all the slack possible on the jib halyard and cleat it down. This HAS to be secure - cleat to a horn cleat, not a cam-cleat. Once cleated, I can let go of the mast, the halyard will temporarily act as my fore-stay.
-Now I pin the forward pin of the tabernacle and the mast is relatively secure. At this point, I want to get even more slack out of the jib halyard, tighten it down as much as possible. The procedure is the same as tightening the halyard with the jib on it. I "sweat" the halyard, while keeping tension on it the whole time, its a two-handed operation. As a precaution, Ii'll keep my shoulder close behind the mast, but the forces you are exerting on the mast are DOWN and FOREWARD, so it will stay in place. Once it's good and tight, I cleat the halyard down again.
-Now I hop out of the boat, walk to the bow and "simply" pin the forestay to the stemhead and release the halyard. I put "simply" in quotes because if the jib halyard isn't tight then the forestay won't reach! This is the only hard part of the whole procedure. I usually just pull on the halyard from the bow end (while it's still clipped in, of course) to get out that last bit of slack, then I contort my other hand to bring the forestay into place and slide the pin in at the same time. I have big hands, it works, but barely. The other options are to either get back in the boat and tighten the jib halyard some MORE, or use the main halyard. For that, I get back in the boat, tie off the main halyard as per normal, and then carry the head end of the main halyard with me to the bow. Then I pull on THAT as hard as I can, getting the mast forward a bit, and then pin the forestay.
-For what it's worth, I clip my forestay to a side halyard while the mast is down. Much easier than letting it flop around.
-Taking the mast down is the reverse - Clip the jib halyard to the stem, cleat it off, unpin the forestay, clip it to the sidestay, take out the forward pin on the tabernacle, let the mast down to your shoulder, then either walk it back or just put it down onto your arms then the transom. For me, the hardest part is getting the rear pin out, somehow it's always jammed. My beloved 2-lb deadblow mallet comes in mighty handy for these occasions!
Well, that's it, hope it's helpful. Bottom line, use your jib halyard, walk the mast up from inside the boat.
Best,
Tom